From Oystein’s smithy I made my way by train and bus back north in Norway to the small town of Trysil on the border with Sweden. The next blacksmith of my Scandinavian axe journey, Mattias Helje, picked me up there and took me to his home and smithy in western Sweden in the town of Lima. Lima is in Dalarna county, which is steeped in tradition and has a long history of iron smelting and blacksmithing. With plentiful, clean charcoal fuel and pure iron ore, Sweden has long been famous for the quality of its steel. This steel was highly sought after in Europe for tool making for centuries – I recall it being specifically mentioned as the most prized material for anvil faces at the Refflinghaus anvil smithy in Germany in the 1980’s when I researched anvil forging tradition there. As I had hoped, Mattias forged a socketed axe for me of a type that is widespread in Sweden. He referred to it as a “carpenters axe” and told me that it hailed from central and northern Sweden. It was developed in the late 19th or early 20th century and was used through the 20th century. The particular axe that he reproduced for me was originally forged by Nygårds Martin Olsson (1859-1925). The unique, socketed eye is beautiful in form and, in Norway, is called a “Swedish Eye”.

Mattias’ hand hewn farmhouse.

The cabin I stayed in – also hand hewn!

Mattias’ main smithy (one of three!).

Lima landscape in April. We took a little walk before Mattias began forging.

On the way we passed an old barn – the lower section was built in the 16th century.

Tight joinery in the old part of the barn.

Corner joinery as seen from inside.

An old lock on the door.

Getting started on the axe.

The axe Mattias will reproduce, and the starting piece of wrought iron.

Offsetting one side of the blade with a butcher.

The offset.

Second offset.

Adjusting the angle of the offset blade halves.

A quick change to a top fullering die on Mattias’ mechanical hammer.

Thinning out the socket material.

Checking dimensions to make sure he stays true to the old design.

Drawing out the corners of the socket material.

The shape so far.

A view of the cross-section of the axe blank. The thick material in the middle will become the back of the axe-eye. The thick material to each side will be laminated together to form the blade.

Another view of the fully drawn-out axe blank.

Another view of the Carpenter’s Axe that Mattias is reproducing. It is beautifully done.

A comparison of the old axe to the new axe blank.

Second Breakfast is For Real in Sweden (and Norway)!

Back to work. The heavy material which will become the back of the axe will be pushed to the other side of the blank where it needs to be. This will be done over the rounded edge of the anvil as shown.

The heavy section is set down.

Another view of this operation.

The back of the axe (poll) is now correctly placed.

The edges of the socket material which be lap-welded together are curved over the horn to put them in the right place.

View of the axe blank which is now ready to be folded.

Starting the fold.

Another step in folding the axe blank.

A view of the folding progress.

Tightening the socket weld-zone.

Adjusting the overlap.

Aligning the edges.

Closing the gaps.

The closed axe blank ready for welding.

The fit-up of the socket.

Another view of the folded axe blank.

Heating the blade of the axe for welding. This is the heavy part of the axe and will be welded first, followed by welding the socket.

Applying flux to the blade weld.

Welding the blade.

Results of the first welding pass on the blade.

Underside of the welded blade.

Welding the socket over the horn.

Appearance of the axe body after the first socket welding pass.

Edge of the welded socket. It needs a little more welding work.

Borax flux is applied to get a complete weld on the edge of the socket.

The socket weld is made complete.

Now that the forge-welding of the axe body is done the shape of the axe will be refined. This will take many steps but result in a very clean form.

Correcting the eye.

Top view of the welded axe body.

The socket weld and socket-blade transition.

Butcher tools to refine the socket-to-blade transition zone. They will produce a sharp inside corner.

A mandrel is used to clean up the eye. This will proceed over numerous heats.

Shaping the top of the eye.

Using the anvil to refine the lower edge of the blade as the top edge is forged.

Using a mandrel on the top opening of the eye.

The refined eye of the axe.

Another view of the axe eye and socket.

A comparison of the axe-in-progress with the old axe.

Top view of same. The top opening of the eye is clearly a bit different.

A high-carbon steel strike plate is shaped for welding to the back of the axe-eye. It is a hammer-like feature which strengthens the poll of the axe.

Shaping the strike plate. The material is about the same as 1070.

Form fitting the strike plate.

The position and fit of the strike plate.

Fluxing the strike plate. The flux is borax with red iron oxide.

To weld the strike plate onto the poll of the axe it is simply gripped in place and put into the fire. Everything is heated together (including the ends of the tong-jaws).

Axe eye in the forge. The tong jaws are just visible in silhouette on the left side of the eye opening.

The upper edge of the plate is tack-welded to the poll of the axe.

Another welding heat is taken to bond the strike plate to the poll.

The weld seams are closed and leveled.

The mandrel is used to maintain the shape of the eye as the welding and shaping continue.

Refining the shape of the strike plate – top and bottom edges.

Detailing the top and bottom edges.

Attention to detail.

A well-finished strike plate.

The nearly-blended seams of the strike plate.

Refining the eye and socket.

Straightening the overall form.

Another technique for adjusting the form.

A clean, even edge on the socket with no trace of a weld seam.

The finished back of the axe. On to the blade!

After opening the edge of the blade with a chisel the lips of the cleft are scarfed for welding in a bit of Fagersta 110 or UHB20 steel (similar to O1).

The finished cleft.

A bit is prepared for the axe with a wedge-shaped cross section.

Scarfing the edge of the bit.

Parting off the bit.

The bit has been inserted into the axe body.

The first step of welding the bit is to “pack” the joint tightly together at a welding heat and even up the edges.

The packed joint ready to weld.

Welding the bit.

Welding continues.

Drawing the welded bit on the mechanical hammer.

Finishing the profile of the axe.

The finish-forged axe – ready for grinding and heat treating.

Mattias will heat treat the axe in his “old smithy”. When you step through the tiny door into the dark interior and see yourself surrounded by ancient tools you feel you have gone back in time.

View from inside the old smithy.

Mattias’ bellows collection with a very old anvil on the stump in front of them.

Mattias uses a mix of coal and charcoal to heat treat his tools. The darkness inside the old smithy is good for judging the temperature of the work. The only sounds inside the smithy right now come from the fire and from the old bellows.

The back of the axe is normalized.

After normalization the axe was quenched in oil, then tempered over the fire. The edge was then finish-ground.

After I left Hjerleid Craft School in Dovre I traveled to the coastal town of Sandefjord south of Oslo. Here I met and spent a few days with Øystein Myhre. Øystein forges axes and other traditional Norwegian tools in the very cool smithy which he built on his property. Based on his own collection of historical tools and tools brought to him by handworkers and museums, Øystein forges accurate, high quality replicas. Many of the axes and other tools he forges are put directly to use by timber builders for the construction and restoration of old buildings – some as old as the middle ages. On the first day of my visit Øystein forged a large ryarbile, which is an axe used to hew logs for house-building. Øystein explained that there is an enormous variety of axes which have been forged over the centuries in different parts of Norway. The Ryarbile axe was developed in the 1700’s and was particularly common in eastern Norway. Starting about 1860 it was produced on an industrial scale by the Mustad factory and sold all over Norway. It has an edge length of 5″ and weighs a bit over 4 pounds (1900 grams). In use it will be fitted with a straight haft of birch about 22″ long.

Leaving Hjerleid Craft School in Dovre from the train station in nearby Dombaas. View from the station.

Farms in the valleys of Norway’s Oppland.

Scenery further south as the train approaches Oslo.

Oslo Train Station.

Houses near the harbor in the town of Sandefjord.

Church in Sandefjord.

Twilight in the Sandefjord harbor.

Øystein in his picturesque smithy in the Sandefjord countryside.

Let the mornings work begin.

Laying out the axe body for a 4 pound Ryarbile.

Forging begins on the eye-area of the axe. The sides of the eye are thinned out.

Features of profile of the back of the axe are started.

Judging the early progress.

Folding the axe.

Straightening the fold.

Tightening the fold in preparation for forge welding.

Fluxing for the weld.

Bringing the axe body to a welding heat.

Welding the axe body. This will take several heats.

Some shaping of the back of the axe is done during welding.

The first (smaller) of two mandrels is inserted into the eye to begin shaping it. The weld has to be GOOD.

Shaping the back of the axe on the mandrel. The size of the eye will be progressively increased using a final, larger mandrel, and outside form of the eye will be refined at the same time.

Working the poll of the axe.

The shaping with the first mandrel is done and the weld is good, as evidenced by the sealed seam at the front of the eye.

The second and final mandrel is driven into the eye. Again, this calls for a good weld.

The shape continues to be refined both inside and outside the eye.

The front of the axe is opened to set in a tool-steel bit.

But before that Øystein calls for a morning break. This starts by collecting eggs from his hens and frying them. Yummm!

View from the kitchen table to the smithy.

Back to work. Øystein marks out material for a bit from his old stock of SK7 – the steel preferred by blacksmiths in Scandinavia for the edges of wood cutting tools.

The bit is driven into place in the cleft of the axe body.

The axe body with inserted bit is “packed” together at a high heat before welding begins. Norwegian smiths like to heat the weld-zone to a high heat to tighten the gaps between the pieces and even up the edges before they actually start forge welding.

A properly packed bit and body – ready for forge welding.

Welding in the axe bit on the power hammer.

Shaping the axe during the welding process.

Fullering a notch between the eye and blade. This is a standard feature on the Ryarbile.

Øystein takes another welding heat.

More welding.

Shaping the blade on the power hammer.

Working on blade details.

Cleaning up the eye. A good form inside the eye is important for a good haft fit-up.

Sharpening the edges for a good, clean form – solely by hammer work.

Last mandrel fit-up.

The final forging prior to trimming and grinding.

Marking the blade for trimming. Notice that there is not much to trim off because the forging was done accurately to begin with.

Trimming operation.

Shaping the cutting edge.

Filing away any rough edges on the form.

The finished Ryarbile – ready for heat treating.

Normalizing the axe.

The axe cools down from the critical temperature.

Øystein’s finished Ryarbile, ready for quenching and tempering. At the end of the day we left it at this stage – a beautiful forging.

The day after I landed in Oslo I took a 3-1/2 hour train trip north to the Hjerleid Craft School in the town of Dovre. I spent the next 10 days there teaching a class on forging Viking age axes. There were 12 students in the 1-year class, which is run by Benjamin Kjellman-Chapin – head of the blacksmithing department. The enthusiasm of Benjamin and the students was awesome and each student finished an axe. Although I’d had some second thoughts just before I left about my commitment to teach a relatively difficult subject to so many students so far away, the class was a great success and a huge amount of fun as well! I miss them all and hope to return.

In early April I traveled to Norway and Sweden for a month-long trip to study traditional axe forging. Axes are still used there to hew and join logs for the construction and maintenance of beautiful, traditional houses. Below are a few pictures from my first day in Oslo. Both the weather and the scenery were amazing. Follow-up posts on this trip will show a class that I taught in Norway on Viking-style axe forging and my visits with several blacksmiths who taught me forging techniques for axes that date back to the Medieval era.

Clouds over the NorCal

Long night on the Dreamliner

My first visit to Norway. What’s that white stuff on the ground?

Western Norway

The approach to Oslo Airport

Airport Hotel – the rooms are small but the complimentary breakfasts are AWESOME!

Walking around Oslo to pass the time (Day 1)

Nice building in Oslo

Government building at the edge of the Oslo harbor.

View of Oslo at the edge of Oslo Fjord

Oslo Fjord looking at Akershus

The old fortress of Akershus

The old fortress of Akershus

The old fortress of Akershus

The old fortress of Akershus

iew inside of Akershus

Bronze Gun at Akershus

He came to shoo me away from the Bronze Gun. He was very nice about it.

Last year I came across a couple of images on the internet which showed tools recovered from the graves of Viking blacksmiths. In both cases there were hammers of a particular, one-sided design which nowadays is associated with blade smithing. When I saw the first picture, which Matt Stagmer posted to Facebook from the book “The Vikings”, I was immediately struck by the similarity of the hammer eyes to axe eyes formed by wrapping and forge welding. Owen Bush posted his own picture from Norway of the same set of tools (second picture). In this case there was even an axe with the same eye. Another picture of a recent find of Viking blacksmithing tools from a grave showed similar hammers, albeit with simpler, rectangular eyes (third picture):

Following a hunch I decided to see if I could devise a method of forging these styles of hammers using welding procedures borrowed from early axe construction. My criteria were that I should get similar hammer forms which showed no traces of the forge welding used to stick them together. They would have soft iron bodies and faces of high-carbon steel. In brief here is what I came up with:

A piece of 1.25″ square bar which is 4.5″ long is marked into equal thirds.

The center section is drawn down to about 1/2″ thickness with sharp corner on the offset edges.

The workpiece is bent in the middle to bring the inside corners of the joint precisely together.

The joint is welded at a high heat and drawn down to the finished cross section to eliminate the weld seam. A face of 1075 is carefully welded to the front so that its seam also disappears.

Three Viking-style blacksmithing hammers with weights between 700 grams and 1050 grams made by the same technique.

A hammer shaped with a mandrel similar to the Viking grave find shown in the first two pictures above. I had not yet worked out the method to eliminate the weld seams on this early trial piece.

It took about 4 tries to end up with a hammer which showed no seams. The essential point was to weld at a sizzling hot temperature (almost to the point of burning the iron) and reduce the body down quite a bit to the final cross section (I reduced it by a factor of 2). From the standpoint of a Viking blacksmith using bloomery iron, a hammer forged this way would have been refined in both the eye and body sections due to drawing down their cross sections -thus giving a better orientation of the slag inclusions. This would not necessarily have been the case for a hammer with a punched eye.

One of my longest standing goals as a professional blacksmith has been to forge socketed wood working axes in the traditions of northern European examples. In my opinion these axes are quite possibly the most beautiful tools in the world. The forge welding in these axes is complex and requires a strategy, tool-set and control of form which showcases the extraordinary skills possessed by many traditional blacksmiths. After tackling asymmetrically welded eyes on traditional Viking axe forms over the last 4 years (by no means a finished topic for me) I have recently turned my attention to the techniques needed to produce socketed axes. I have researched various techniques and followed the work of wonderful blacksmiths in Scandinavia, Europe and the US to see how I might approach this. The pictures below show the progress I’ve made by my 3rd trial socket. It is produced by free-hand forging on a power hammer and was made without a mandrel. I learned a lot on this piece and in the work leading up to it. I hope to travel this year to meet some of the smiths I admire so that I can learn much more about this process from them and about specific axes produced for timber framing and carving over the last several centuries.

Two new 3 lb. Viking style hammers are on their way to customers today. One is going to a blacksmith in France and the other to a friend just north of me here in California. Both have low-carbon steel bodies forge welded to high-carbon faces and peens. The process is very time consuming but it is very satisfying to do. One advantage to it is that the punching and drifting of the eye is done in a fairly soft steel and is much easier to perform. This is a big help since the strong, asymmetric taper of this hammer profile makes it difficult to keep the eye-hole straight. These hammers should give many years of good service.

This pair of axes is ready to go to a good customer in the South East. He asked for a somewhat “matched” set to mount together so I picked out 2 pieces of similar size and heft which complimented each other from a small batch of axes I was working on. He wanted a finish with a bit of patina so I used the heat treating stage to reveal the steel bit with an “etch” from the furnace. The asymmetric joint is also subtly accented this way. To give a bit of color to the eye of the axe I used a finely filed surface to retain a bit of temper color. The overall effect is very nice.

At long last the DVD Tutorial entitled “Forging a Viking-Age Broad Axe / Traditional Asymmetric Wrap” is finished and ready to ship! A joint project with film maker Anna Geyer, this DVD has been over a year in the making. It is 62 minutes long, professionally produced, and covers in great detail the process of forging a broad axe by the asymmetric wrap technique which was the standard method of the Viking age. The process is carried out completely by hand with standard blacksmithing tools (plus a few special-purpose tools I developed) and the help of a striker. The cost of this DVD is $35 (the same as for my first DVD: “Forging a Bearded Viking Axe’). As a special offer to the first 40 customers who purchase this DVD I will offer free shipping. After that a $5 shipping fee will apply.

I got the opportunity to teach a course in the Iron Studio at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. The name of the course is “Silver Overlay for Blacksmiths”. In it I will lead students in the forging of small articles of iron which they will then decorate with pure silver by the process known as Damascening or Koftgari. As an example for the students I just forged a Thor’s Hammer pendant and overlaid it with hair-thin, fine silver wire. The wire catches in a hand-applied texture on the surface of the steel and is peened and burnished to finish it. This technique is quite ancient, yet fairly easy to learn. It can add striking beauty to otherwise plain objects!

The Thor’s Hammer pendant forged from mild steel and overlaid with pure silver.